Curtain-displaying device.



PATENTED OUT. 25, 1904.- E. D. VALLIANT.

CURTAIN DISPLAYING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 13. 1904.

N0 MODEL.

WITNESSES v INVENTOR. WWW 2% ,A/MQ',

v No. 772,978.

. UNITED STATES Patented October 25, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN D. VALLIANI, OF ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI.

v CUFRTAIN-DISPLAYINGI DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 772,978, dated October 25, 1904. Application filed February 18, 1904. Serial No. 193,461. (No model.)

1'0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN 'D. VALLIANT, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Joseph, in the county of Buchanan and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Curtain-Displaying Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in curtain-displaying devices designed for the displaying of lace-curtains, portieres, and the like, usually used -in selling curtains by dis played samples; and the objects of my improvements are, first, to provide a curtaindisplaying device by the use of which an extremely large number of series of curtains may be successively spread, advantageously displayed, and be successively returned in their consecutive order in such manner that a large number of series of curtains and the device shall occupy a minimum amount of space and to so construct a curtam-d1splay1ngdevice that although the spreading, displaying, and folding of curtains thereon be performed with extreme rapidity the injury to curtains arising from exposure and handling shall be reduced to the minimum; second, to

so construct and situate the parts of a curtaindisplaying device that when not in use for the display of curtains the parts of the device used for such display shall practically not obstruct floor-space; third, to provide a'curtaindisplaying device which shall be cheap in cost ofmanufacture, easily installed, durable, and not at all liable to get out of order. I attain these objects by the devices illustrated in the,

avoid unnecessary extension of the drawing.

My invention consists of a series of curtainrods 1, ad ustably secured by set-screws 2 in a flanged disk 3, rotatable and supported on a vertical rod or support 4, and having their free ends of suitable height to rotate and pass beneath a concaved rest or registering fastening 5, as indicated by dotted lines at 1 in Fig. 1. Said rest 5 is preferably formed with terminal 6 of a display-Wire 7, and is rigidly held at a fixed distance from support 4 by an extending arm or bracket 8, secured thereon by set-screw 9 at such height as will bring a curtain-rod 1, terminal 6, and display-wire 7 in alinement to .form a continuous elevated tramway from disk 3 to a fastening 10, secured upon a vertical shaft or support 11. Said tramway is tensioned by the ordinary rods and turnbuckles 1 2 and 13, secured to any desired fixed objects 14 and 15, respectively, as seen in Fig. 1. Vertical supports 4 and 11 are secured upon floor 16 by floor-flanges 17 and 18, secured by screws 19. (Seen in Fig. 1.) A background wire 20, having one of its ends secured to support 4 by a bracket 21 and its opposite end secured to fastening 10 on support 11, is tensioned at the same time with wire 7 by rods and turnbuckles l2 and 13, se-

cured to fixed objects Hand 15, respectively, as seen in Fig. 1.

In the operation of my invention curtains 22 are suspended by ordinary curtain-hooks 23 upon rods 1 and are fastened together by having their lapped corners grasped by a curtain-hook 23, as seen at 23 in Fig. 1. Said curtains 22 are preferably placed asfollows: All curtains of a certain price or of a certain character or of a certain grade are suspended each kind from its respective curtain-rod 1, folded closely together and normally so remains, while a background curtain 24 of a color to advantageously contrast'with curtains 22 is suspended by ordinary curtain-rings 25 from curtain-wire 20 and is folded closely against background stop 26, leaving space on floor 16 beneath wires 7 and 20 practically unobstructed. When curtains are displayed,

the exhibitor grasps a rod 1, rotates the enally raised by exhibitor from position at 1 in Fig. 2 and at dotted lines 1 in Fig. 1 to the position seen at 1 in Fig. 1, its free end resting (elastically pressed downward by elastic reaction of rod 1) in concaved rest 5, after which exhibitor grasps both the outer edges of curtain 22 and of curtain 24 at points be low and near their respective wires 7 and 20 and manually draws both of said curtains to the position seen in Fig. 1, thus quickly and easily spreading and advantageously displaying curtains 22, after which by a reverse op eration curtains 22 are returned in their consecutive order to their respective rod 1. The system of rods 1 after manual release of rod 1 from rest 5 may again be rotated and the before-described operation repeated, or only one or as many as desired of curtains 22 may thus be displayed and returned to their respective rod 1. It is evident from the foregoing-described displaying and returning of curtains 22 that the same can be done with ease and extreme rapidity with little or no injury to curtains 22. When curtains 22 are not being displayed,curtain2 1 is folded closely against background stop 26.

While I have described my invention in its preferred form secured to supports at and 11, rising vertically from a floor 16 and having one display-wire 7 and one background wire 20, it is evident that a plurality of wires 7 and 20, With their respectively attached parts, as seen in Fig. 4, or rods in lieu thereof, could be used and that my entire device could be inverted and attached to the ceiling of a room Without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I am aware that various devices could be used for releasably holding rods 1 in register or alinement with terminal 6, such asaspringactuated chute-bolt, a tongue and groove, &c., and I therefore reserve the right to use such, as being Well-known means for holding in register tWo parts of a mechanism or device.

Therefore what I claim as new and original, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a curtain-displaying device, the combination with a horizontally-extended display Wire, or rod, and its terminal, of a curtainrod, having one end attached to a movable support, and its free end movable into and out of register with the terminal of said display-Wire, and means for releasably holding said rod and terminal in register or alinement.

2. In a curtain-displaying device, the combination With a display-wire and its terminal, of two or more curtain-rods, extending radially from a rotatable support; the free ends of said curtain-rods being rotatable into and out of register with the terminal of said displaywire, and means for releasably holding said rods in register with said terminal.

8. In a curtain-displaying device a vertical rod or support having two or more curtainrods rotatably supported thereon and an arm or bracket rigidly secured thereto and extending therefrom, the outer end of said arm or bracket carrying a rigidly-seenred terminal of a display-wire, held at a fixed distance from and in radial alinement to said vertical rod or support as shown and for the purposes specilied.

1. In a curtain-displaying device, the combination with adisplay-wire and its terminal, of a concaved rest attached to or formed with said terminal, for releasably holding in register with said terminal the free end 0 l a rotatably-sumiorted cin'tain-rod, as shown and specified.

5. Ina curtain-displaying device, the combination with a horizontally-extended display wire or rod and its terminal, having two or more curtain-rods movable into and out of register with said terminal, of suitable curtain-hooks. tor suspendingcurtains from said curtain-rods and slidable from said curtainrods along and upon said terminal and display wire or rod, and ot' a background wire.

6. The combination with a vertical rod or support having one or more rods rotatahly supported thereon, of a plurality ot radiallyextending arms or brackets each arm or bracket having the terminal of a radially-extended display-wire rigidly secured thereto, for maintaining exact distance between and alinement of parts, and a plurality of background wires, as shown and specified.

7. In a curtain-displaying device, a vertical rod or support secured to and rising from a ffoor, and having a plurality of curtain-rods, adjustably secured in a disk, rotatably sup ported upon said vertical rod; an alining-arm, a terminal and a display-wire extending radially from said vertical support, a background wire, suitable braces and turnbuckles for supporting and tensioning said wires, curtain hooks or fastenings slidable along and upon said curtain-rods, terminal and displaywire, and curtain-rings slidable along said background wire, substantially as shown and specified.

In testimony whereof I allix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ED\V IN I). VALLIANT.

\Vitnesses:

GEORGE \V. HIN'IoN, \VILLIAM M. Mynns. 

